Folding bed



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

L. G. BUTTERFIELD. FOLDING BED.

No. 399,832. Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

L. O. B'UTTERFIELD.

FOLDING BED.

Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

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LEII C. BUTTERFIELD, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDING BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,832, dated March 19, 1889.

Application filed October 18, 1888. Serial No. 288,457. (No model.)

T0 whom it 71mg concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI C. BUTTERFIELD, of Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of folding beds in which the bed-body is pivotally connected to an upright case, within which it may be concealed when not in use, and from which it may be unfolded into a horizontal position for use; and its object is to improve the construction of beds of this character in certain particulars.

In the accompanying drmvings I have represented at Figure 1 in vertical section, and at Fig. 2 in front elevation, a bed embodying my present improvements in the form now best known to me, the bed being shown as folded within the case. In Fig. 2 the mattress and its connected parts are, for the sake of clearness, omitted. At Fig. 3 I have shown the same bed unfolded from the case and eX- tended for use.

In the drawings, A represents the bed box or case. This may be of any well-known form and construction which will satisfactorily receive and conceal the bed-bottom and attached parts when folded up. The bed-box shown in the drawings is represented with an open front, a rod, B, extending across the same at the top, upon which sliding curtains are to be placed, after the manner of the so-called mantel-bed. The back of the bed-box is also preferably left open for the sake of ventilation, except a crossstrip, G, against which the upper edge of the head-board abuts when the bed is open, and which thus serves both to stiffen the bed-case and also as a finish or extension of the head-board when the bed is in use. The bed-bottom (represented at C) is pivoted in any suitable manner, as at D, to the sides a of the bed-boX. I prefer to construct this bedbottom in two parts connected by hinges 0, so that the outer end of the bed-bottom may first be folded upon itself before the bed-bottom as a whole is folded up into the case, this method of construction being well known, and being desirable because it diminishes the height required for the bed-case.

At the head end of the bed-bottom is pivotally attached a hinged or two-part headboard, the two parts of which are marked E F. The pivotal attachment of the head-board to the bed-bottom is shown at e, and the pivotal attachment of the two parts of the head-board at The outer end of the bed-bottom when. extended and in use is supported by means of a pair of legs, II, pivoted, as at h, to the bedbottom. As a means of positively opening these legs into position for use, and also of positively folding them into their closed position when the bed is folded up, I provide a two-part lever, J K, for each leg, one of the parts, K, being pivoted to the leg, as at 70, and the other being pivoted to the inner portion of the bed-bottom, as at j, while the two parts .I K are pivoted together, as at A pair of stops or pins, Z Z, one placed upon the outer and the other upon the inner portion of the bed-bottom, as shown, operate, respectively, as the outer portion of the bed-bottom is folded in or out to check or limit the radial motion of the part .I around the pivot hen the end of the bed-bottom is folded up, the stop Z, by checking the rotation of the part J, causes the part K to be drawn back and fold the leg 11 into the position represented at Fig. 1. In the same way, when the outer end of the bedbottom is unfolded, the stop Z, by checking the radial movement of the part J in the other direction, causes the part K to be pushed out, and so presses the leg H out into its place to support the end of the bed, as shown at Fig. 3.

A supplemental or intermediate pair of legs are also provided, as shown at L M, to support the outer end of the inner portion of the bedbottom. These legs are folded and unfolded by means of connecting-rods on extended to and pivoted upon the sides of the case A, as

shown at on, this part of the device being a well-known feature in beds of this class.

I will now describe briefly the operation of the device:

Assuming the bed to be closed, as at Fig. 1, the bed-body is first brought from a vertical to a horizontal position by moving it radially around the pivots D. This operation will also bring the jointed head-board up into its place, grooves 9 being preferably provided upon the sides of the bed-box to receive and guide the upper end of the head-board for this purpose and to hold it in its vertical position, as shown at Fig. 3. The dotted lines in Fig. 3 represent the position of the outer end of the bed-bottom at this stage of the operation of opening the bed, and this part of the bed-bottom is now moved radially around the pivot 0 into the horizontal position shown in full lines, in the course of which operation the outer legs, H, are forced out into position, as before described. The closing of the bed is exactly the reverse of the operation of opening it. The folded head-board E F acts as a convenient retaining device, when the bed is folded up, for the pillows, while the double-pivoting of the head-board, as described at c f, allows the pivot D to be placed nearer to the back of the case A than has heretofore been possible with a folding headboard, and thus the distance to which the bed when open projects into the room is materially lessened.

I claim- In a folding bed having a bed-case and a bed-bottom pivotally connected therewith and having its outer portion adapted to fold upon its inner portion, the combination of a pair of legs, H, hinged to the outer portion of the bedbody, the two-part levers hinged to the said legs, to the inner portion of the bed-bottom, and to each other, and stops located one upon the outer and the other upon the inner por tion of the bed-bottom, whereby the radial motion of the levers may be checked to cause the legs to be opened or folded as the outer end of the bed-bottom is opened or folded, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I'have hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of October, A.

LEVI O. BUTTERFIELD. Witnesses:

ELLEN B. ToMLINsoN, JOHN HENRY TAYLOR. 

